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Thursday, November 30, 2017

30 November 2017, Writing
- part x328, Novel Form, Secrets in Novels, Children of Light and Darkness

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher
has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy. I'll keep you
informed. More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com. Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy
them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.
This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in
installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in
addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel
was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and
tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this
blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example
of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll
keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my
writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production
schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I
employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the
writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage
of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a
novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

I
finished writing my 28th novel, working title, School, potential
title Deirdre: Enchantment and the School. The theme statement is: Sorcha, the abandoned
child of an Unseelie and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school
where she meets the problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.

Here is the cover proposal for Deirdre:
Enchantment and the School.

Cover
Proposal

The most important scene in any
novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising
action. I continued writing my 29th novel, working title Red Sonja. I finished my 28th novel, working
title School. If you noticed, I started on number 28, but
finished number 29 (in the starting sequence—it’s actually higher than
that). I adjusted the numbering. I do keep everything clear in my
records.

How to begin a novel. Number one thought, we need an entertaining
idea. I usually encapsulate such an idea
with a theme statement. Since I’m
writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement. Here is an initial cut.

For novel 29: Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the
X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns
about freedom, and is redeemed.

The
protagonist and the telic flaw are tied permanently together. The novel plot is completely dependent on the
protagonist and the protagonist’s telic flaw.
They are inseparable. This is
likely the most critical concept about any normal (classical) form novel.

So,
how do you write a rich and powerful initial scene? Let’s start from a theme statement. Here is an example from my latest novel:

The
theme statement for Deirdre: Enchantment
and the School is: Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie and a human,
secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the problem child
Deirdre and is redeemed.

Here
is the scene development outline:

1.
Scene input (comes from the previous scene output or is an initial scene)

4.
Write the scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.

5.
Write the release

6.
Write the kicker

If
you have the characters (protagonist, protagonist’s helper, and antagonist),
the initial setting, the telic flaw (from the protagonist), a plot idea, the
theme action, then you are ready to write the initial scene. I would state that since you have a protagonist,
the telic flaw, a plot idea, and the theme action, you have about
everything—what you might be lacking is the tension and release cycle in your scenes.

The
release part of the scene development cycle is similar to a punchline. This is the point at which the tension of the
scene is released. The complete tension
is never released until the climax of the novel, but the tension of the scene
is released to some degree at this point.

I’m
still addressing conflict and release from the standpoint of scenes, but I
thought it might provide a good example to look at secrets in my novels. If you remember, there are two basic types of
secrets in a novel. The first is the
plot revelation. The revelation of the
plot and the protagonist are secrets until they are revealed in the novel. This is the number one basic element of
secret in a novel. This secret is
unknown to the characters and the readers until it is revealed.

The
second type of secret is the secrets of the protagonist or other major
character. These are secrets known to
the readers, but not known to other characters in the context of the
novel. These are revealed (or not
revealed) through the plot. I write not
reveled because these secrets may remain secrets from no one, a few, or all in
the context of a novel. The writer uses
the revelation of these secrets to create tension and release and to drive to
the climax.

The
sixth novel in the Ancient Light
series is Children of Light and Darkness. This is an uncontracted and unpublished novel
that I hope is eventually published.

Children of Light and Darkness continues with Lumiere’ and Aleksandr’s children after their
return from China with a huge twist. Lumiere’
and Aleksandr are both missing and so are their children. The Organization (British Intelligence) sends
two agents, Kathrin and James to look for Lumiere’ and Aleksandr in Burma when
the nation opens up in the 1970s.

Kathrin
and James find the children that no one seemed to know were missing. This is one of the great plot secrets in the
novel—exactly who or what are the children.
The great character secret that is also a plot secret is who or what is
Kathrin.

The
secret of where or what happened to Lumiere’ and Aleksandr are not revealed in
the novel. Their disappearance is the
initial cause for the entire novel, but not the telic cause of the protagonist,
who is Kathrin.

This
is a very fun and complex novel. The fun
is the great secret of the children plus the revelation of their past and
events. The other great secret also
becomes a focus of entertainment—who is Kathrin.

I
want to note again—the main cause for the novel is not resolved in this
novel. This isn’t a real problem for the
novel. There is an expectation that
Lumiere’ and Aleksandr were killed. The
question of how, who, and where just aren’t answered, and in the context of the
novel they are nothing more than the initial motivation. I find this difficult to explain, but this is
one of the ways to develop a series novel where the overall plot can resolve,
but with a long term issue that begs for resolution. The resolution does come about in the next
novel.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher
has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy. I'll keep you
informed. More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com. Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy
them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.
This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in
installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in
addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel
was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and
tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this
blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example
of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll
keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my
writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production
schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I
employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the
writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage
of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a
novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

I
finished writing my 28th novel, working title, School, potential
title Deirdre: Enchantment and the School. The theme statement is: Sorcha, the abandoned
child of an Unseelie and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school
where she meets the problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.

Here is the cover proposal for Deirdre:
Enchantment and the School.

Cover
Proposal

The most important scene in any
novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising
action. I continued writing my 29th novel, working title Red Sonja. I finished my 28th novel, working
title School. If you noticed, I started on number 28, but
finished number 29 (in the starting sequence—it’s actually higher than
that). I adjusted the numbering. I do keep everything clear in my
records.

How to begin a novel. Number one thought, we need an entertaining
idea. I usually encapsulate such an idea
with a theme statement. Since I’m
writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement. Here is an initial cut.

For novel 29: Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the
X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns
about freedom, and is redeemed.

The
protagonist and the telic flaw are tied permanently together. The novel plot is completely dependent on the
protagonist and the protagonist’s telic flaw.
They are inseparable. This is
likely the most critical concept about any normal (classical) form novel.

So,
how do you write a rich and powerful initial scene? Let’s start from a theme statement. Here is an example from my latest novel:

The
theme statement for Deirdre: Enchantment
and the School is: Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie and a human,
secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the problem child
Deirdre and is redeemed.

Here
is the scene development outline:

1.
Scene input (comes from the previous scene output or is an initial scene)

4.
Write the scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.

5.
Write the release

6.
Write the kicker

If
you have the characters (protagonist, protagonist’s helper, and antagonist),
the initial setting, the telic flaw (from the protagonist), a plot idea, the
theme action, then you are ready to write the initial scene. I would state that since you have a protagonist,
the telic flaw, a plot idea, and the theme action, you have about
everything—what you might be lacking is the tension and release cycle in your scenes.

The
release part of the scene development cycle is similar to a punchline. This is the point at which the tension of the
scene is released. The complete tension
is never released until the climax of the novel, but the tension of the scene
is released to some degree at this point.

I’m
still addressing conflict and release from the standpoint of scenes, but I
thought it might provide a good example to look at secrets in my novels. If you remember, there are two basic types of
secrets in a novel. The first is the
plot revelation. The revelation of the
plot and the protagonist are secrets until they are revealed in the novel. This is the number one basic element of
secret in a novel. This secret is
unknown to the characters and the readers until it is revealed.

The
second type of secret is the secrets of the protagonist or other major
character. These are secrets known to
the readers, but not known to other characters in the context of the
novel. These are revealed (or not
revealed) through the plot. I write not
reveled because these secrets may remain secrets from no one, a few, or all in
the context of a novel. The writer uses
the revelation of these secrets to create tension and release and to drive to
the climax.

The
fifth novel in the Ancient Light
series is Shadow of Light. This is an uncontracted and unpublished novel
that I hope is eventually published.

Shadow of Light continues with Lumiere’ Bolang after she escapes from the
Soviet Union. Of course everything does
not go well. Lumiere’ wants to hunt down
the Goddess of Darkness. That was her
goal before and more than goal now.
Unfortunately, Lumiere’ has a falling out with Aleksandr, her fiancé. She heads to Britain and British intelligence
and he stays with the US State Department as a translator. One of the plot secrets in the novel is the
relationship between Lumiere’ and Aleksandr.

The
huge character secret in Shadow of Light
is the role Lumiere’ is playing for British intelligence. This becomes very tense since the Soviets as
well as the Americans are out for Lumiere’.
Mostly for the same reasons.

Eventually,
Lumiere’ and Aleksandr get to China where the confront the Goddess of Darkness—they
also have to confront the traps the Goddess of Darkness has laid for them, and
there are additional traps they created on their own.

About Me

L. D. Alford is a novelist whose writing explores with originality those cultures and societies we think we already know. His writing distinctively develops the connections between present events and history—he combines them with threads of reality that bring the past alive. L. D. Alford is familiar with technology and cultures—he is widely traveled and earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University, a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Dayton, and is a graduate of Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the USAF Test Pilot School. L. D. Alford is an author who combines intimate scientific and cultural knowledge into fiction worlds that breathe reality. He is the author of three historical fiction novels: Centurion, Aegypt, and The Second Mission, and three science fiction novels: The End of Honor, The Fox’s Honor, and A Season of Honor.